Purse.



MARY H. CUTTING BESTE,

or sUMMIT, NEW JERSEY.

PURSE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 30, 1912.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914. Serial No. 728,680.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, MARY H. C. BESTE, a. citizen of the United States, 1esiding at Summit, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and, useful Purse, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to improvements in purses, and is designed more particularly to provide a receptacle for valuables, which, receptacle may be securely fastened to wearing apparel and yet be accessible for the storage of valuables or the removal of the stored valuables, the invention being adaptable for the production of a purse or receptacle capable of receiving money or jewels or valuable papers.

In accordance with the present invention the body of the purse may be made of any suitable material, usually of fiexible nature, while the mouth of the purse is so constructed as to be eXpansible for access to the interior of the purse, and when closed will lie flat with no obtrusive protuberances.

f Moreover, the flexible body of the purse is condition against maintained in an extended liability of bunching by side members which may be relatively rigidly connected to the mouth of the purse, both the side members and the mouth of the purse being constructed of some material such as metal resistant to forces tending to change the shape or disturb the relation of the parts. The side members are provided with fastening devices which may be in the form of elongated pins and the side members are further provided with seats for the free ends of the pins and covering devices for locking the free ends of the pins in the closed position and at the same time avoiding any liability of contact with the free ends of the pins which are usually sharpened so that the pins may be readily inserted thro-ugh the fabric of the clothing of the wearer.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, witlrthe further understanding that while the drawings show a practical embodiment of the invention, it is susceptible of other practical embodiments wherefore the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings, but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention.

In the drawings z-Figure l is a perspectiye view of the purse in the closed position. F 1g 2 is a perspective view of the purse in the open position but viewed from the opposite side. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of o-ne of the side members carrying the fastening devices and separated from the other parts of the purse. Fig. t is a section through the mouth frame of the purse on the line 4*-1 of Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3, with the fastening devices drawn on a larger scale than Fig. 3. F ig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a purse body l which may be made of any suitable material of a flexible or yielding nature, such as is commonly employed in the manufacture of purses. The purse body may be made in the usual bag form and at the open or mouth end of the purse body there is provided a mouth frame which in the particular instance shown is made up of four members 2, 3, 4 and 5. Each member of the mouth frame is hinged at each end to adjacent members by hinge connections 6, 7, respectively. That is, the member 2 is connected to the member 3 by a hinge 6, the member 3 is connected to the member 5 by a hinge 7, the member 2 is connected to the member l by a hinge 7, and the member i is connected to the member 5 by a hinge G. By this construction the several members 2, 3, d and 5 which may be all alike constitute two pairs hinged together at the ends with the members of the pairs hinged together intermediately of the ends, so that the mouth frame may be opened into the form of a rectangle or brought together with the members of the two pairs in face to face engagement. In order to hold the two pairs of members on the frame in the closed position, the two members of one of the pairs carry hinged clips S each having an angle eXtenin the closed position and sion 9 connected to the respective member 4f or 5 in the particular arrangement shown in.

the drawings by a pivot pin 10, while each clip has its main body movable in a plane parallel with the plane of the respective member 4 or 5 and is also provided with a return portion 1l in spaced relation to the body po-rtion and joined thereto by a connecting web 12, so that when the two pairs of mouth members are brought into face to face relation, the body portion of the clip and the return portion 11 thereof may be moved into embracing relation to the mouth members to maintain them in the face to face contact. lhen these clips are moved on their pivots out of engagement with the respective mouth members, those portions connected by the hinges 7 may be moved one toward the other, thus causing the portions connected by the hinges 6 to spread apart. The open end of the body member 1 is connected to one edge of each of the mouth members by stitching 13 or in any other appropriate manner, and the open end of the body of the purse therefore participates in the opening and elo-sing movements of the mouth frame. Each hinge 7 has a pintle 14, to one end of which is made fast one end ofV a bar 15 of a length toextend along the corresponding edge of the body member 1 to substantially the permanently closed end of the body member. The bars 15 are arranged substantially parallel one to the other and at the ends remote from the pintles 14 each bar has a perforation 16 through which a loop 17 connects the corresponding portion of the body member 1 to the bar, so that when the purse is in the closed position the sides of the body member are substantially fiat or extended and the connections 17 prevent any liability of the body of the purse bunching when in use in a manner to be described. Of course, it will be understood that the fastening devices between the body member and the bars 15 are not of necessity limited to a single loop between the body member and each bar. Pivoted to each bar 15 is a pin or tongue 1.8 pointed at one end, as indicated at 19, and at the other end traversed by a pivot pin 2O extending through ears 21 fast to the corresponding end of the bar 15 near the terminal part thereof, the pin 18 and the pivot connection thereof to the bar 15 being similar to pins employed upon jewelry and other articles.

At the end of each bar 15 remote from the pintle 14 there is secured a plate 22 or the bar may be initially formed with a raised portion typied by the part 22 and in this part 22 there is formed a groove 23 longitudinal of the bar 5 and so located and of such form as to receive the pointed end 19 of the pin 18. Pivoted to the portion 22 at one side of the groove 23 is a latch plate 24 having o-ne end 25 upturned and the other end 26 bent at an angle to the body of the plate in position to be moved into engagement with one side of the bar 16. The latch plate 24 may be held to the bar 15 by a suitable pivot pin 27. It is not necessary that the upturned end 25 be provided, but this serves to stiften the end of the latch plate 24. The end of the plate 24 provided with the {upturned part 25 in the nature of a stiftening flange is of a size and so related to the pivot 27 that in one position of the latch plate 24 the groove 23 is uncovered for its entire length, while in another position of the latch plate 24 the groove is closed by the end having the iiange 25, and the angle end 26 is then in engagement with that edge of the bar 15 remote from the groove 23, aud this edge of the bar 15 is also remote from that to which the body 1 is attached. Consequently the angle portions 27 of the latches or latch plates 24`are on the outer edges of the bars 15 and are consequently readily accessible and constitute the inger pieces for the manipulation of the latch plates. Then the latch plates are moved to what may be termed the open position, the pins 18 are free to be moved on their pivots and may then be inserted in the clothing of the wearer, after which the pointed ends of the pins are lodged in the grooves 23 and the plates 24 are moved to what may be termed the closed position, thus not only locking the pointed ends of the pins in position, but also locking them in a manner that these pointed ends are so covered that clothing or the like will not catch in them. The bars 15 may be made heavy enough to not only serve as backing members for the pins 1S, which with the latches or latch plates 24 constitute safety pins, but they are also heavy enough to hold the body of the purse in the stretched condition and prevent wrinkling or bunching of the purse which might be disagreeable to the wearer. Moreover, those faces of the bars 15 opposite the pins 18 and which become the exposed faces of the bars may be ornamented in any suitable manner, such, for instance, as indicated at 27. It will be seen that the pintles 14 are eccentric to the longitudinal center line of the bars 15, so that those edges which constitute the outer edges of the bars with relation to the purse do not project beyond the hinges 7.

The purse may be fastened to the inner face of the coat or to a dress skirt, or to any desired part of the clothing of the wearer and the purse may be worn hidden or exposed as the wearer may desire. The purse is iirmly united to the clothing by the locked safety pins 18 aga-inst accidental displacement and is proof against surreptitious removal under any force short of a destructive force or without a proper manipulation of the latch plates to release the pins 18, which latter cannot be released by simply moving them against their normal tendency, as is the case with an ordinary protectedpoint safety pin.

The purse when closed is fiat and consequently is not at all obtrusive even when lodged between the outer clothing and the body of the wearer, and the mouth frame may be made to conform more or less to the shape of the body of the wearer where the purse is lodged without material interference with the opening and closing of such mouth frame.

What is claimed is l. A purse having a flexible body poition with a mouth opening at one end and closed at the other end, and also provided With means for normally closing the mouth opening, bars at opposite side edges of the body portion and extending from the mouth end to substantially the closed end and having the corresponding side edges of the flexible body portion made fast thereto, and means on each bar for securing them to the clothing of the wearer and thereby holding the flexible body portion of the purse substantially flat.

2. A purse comprising a flexible body portion having a mouth opening at one end and closed at the other end and bars at opposite side edges of the body portion and each extending from the mouth end to substantially the closed end and provided with means for securing it to the clothing of the `wearer, the flexible body portion being secured to the side bars to be maintained extended thereby at the closed end when the bars are fast to the clothing of the wearer.

3. A purse comprising a body member, a mouth frame therefor attached to one end of the body member and movable to open and closed positions and having end hinge connections provided with traversing pintles extending in the direction of the length of the sides of the body member, bars at the sides of the body of the purse and carried by. the pintles and extending from the mouth end of the purse to the permanently closed end thereof, and fastening pins each carried at one end by a corresponding end of a bar and each bar being provided at the other end with a seat for the free end of the pin and with a latch plate movable into and out of covering relation to the seat.

A purse provided with a flexible body portion having a mouth opening at one end and closed at the other end with the mouth opening provided with means for closing it and constructed to move to the open position on the approach of the sides of the purse, bars fast to opposite sides of the body portion and extending from the mouth end to substantially the closed end, and a fastening device on each bar for securing the purse to the clothing of the wearer at opposite sides of the purse.

5. A purse comprising a body member of flexible material permanently closed at one end and along the sides and open at the other end, a mouth frame at the open end of the purse movable into open and closed positions, end bars for the body of the purse fast thereto and to the mouth frame in eccentric relation to the longitudinal center line of the bars, and fastening devices carried by the bars, said fastening devices having clothing piercing members and locking members movable into and out of covering relation to the clothing piercing portions of the fastening devices.

6. A purse having a flexible body member and side bars secured to corresponding side edges of the flexible body member, each side bar having a longitudinally disposed pin thereon with a seat for one end of the pin and a pivoted plate for locking the said end of the pin in its seat, said plate being mounted for movement into and out of covering relation to the seat and provided at one end with an outstanding strengthening flange and at the other end With a finger piece mov able into and out of engagement With the bar and constituting a lock for holding the plate against movement in one direction when in the locked position.

7. A purse provided With a flexible body portion having a mouth opening at one end and permanently closed at the other end with a mouth frame made up of members hinged together at the sides of the purse and at an intermediate point, bars at the sides of the purse and extending from the mouth end to substantially the closed end, and means on the side bars for securing them to the clothing of the wearer in position to normally hold the purse in an extended flat condition throughout its length from the mouth end to the closed end.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto alixed my signature in the presence of tivo Witnesses.

MARY H. CUTTING BESTE.

Titnesses ENID B. ALBEN, MARY C. BESTE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

